COVID-19 update

ATLANTA – Georgia has hit another grim milestone of 500,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

The state added more than 6,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,342 antigen cases Friday, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Georgia has reported 500,265 confirmed cases and 76,272 antigen cases since the start of the pandemic. The state has started reporting antigen cases — results from rapid virus tests — as part of its daily status report.

The state recorded another 38 virus-related deaths Friday, rising to 9,396 deaths. According to new data on the department website, the department suspects there have also been 936 probable deaths related to the virus.

More than 39,700 people have been hospitalized across the state due to COVID-19, according to the report, and 7,009 admitted to an ICU. The state added 346 new hospitalizations Friday.

More than 4.9 million COVID-19 tests have been performed with a 9.6% positive rate, health officials reported.

The state has performed more than 387,000 antibody tests — which show signs of past infection — with the state reporting a 10.7% positivity rate.